XXXI. The Trees are Feeling so Attacked in this Story

The good news was, my chicken soup was a hit with everyone. It was definitely the kind of weather that called for it, and I couldn't help but remember all those summers growing up in the desert when my mom would make soup hotter than the boiling temperatures outside.

The bad news was, an awkward tension, which not even a good meal could abate, hung over the table. Billy's eyes kept straying in my direction, Jacob kept shooting glares at Leah, and Leah in turn, kept kicking him under the table.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have sat between them.

Only Charlie remained oblivious.

"That was my shin," I hissed to Leah, when she shot out her foot once more.

"Ugh, sorry. This is all Jacob's fault," she muttered, meeting Jacob's narrowed eyes long enough to scowl. "All things considered, there's no way Billy invited him along."

Across the table, Charlie chatted about the exhibition game they'd watched earlier, while Billy listened with half an ear.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jacob whispered back harshly.

"Leah, just drop it," I muttered. If Jacob's senses were already enhanced, there's no way he'd miss anything we said, no matter how low our voices dropped. "Jacob, quit fighting with Leah. You're both being annoying."

"I'm just trying to help," Leah grumbled.

My expression softened. "Yeah, I know. But instigating a fight with Jacob isn't making this any easier."

She scowled mulishly but let it go.

Jacob, on the other hand, refused to. Fortunately, he turned to me instead of picking another fight with Leah―verbal or otherwise. "I know you two are hiding something."

That threw me for the loop. "…Excuse me?"

When he didn't answer, I set my spoon down and turned to Charlie. "Hey, chief, you mind if we go hang out in the yard?"

Charlie, who'd I interrupted mid-spiel, paused long enough to process my request, and then looked at me oddly, as though asking for permission were unnecessary. "Sure, Bells. You kids go ahead."

"Thanks," I flashed him a quick grin before jumping to my feet. I dumped my bowl and spoon in the sink, and swept out of the kitchen, Leah at my heels.

As soon as we stepped out into the backyard, I turned to her.

"What is going on? What did you tell Jacob?" I couldn't imagine there was any other reason he was suspicious. I'd talked to the guy a total of two times.

"Hey, I didn't tell him squat," Leah crossed her arms. "…But I may have asked him what he remembered about those old legends we'd listened to as kids."

I groaned, "Leah!"

"What?! There's no way I was going to ask my dad!" she defended. "We haven't exactly been getting along great."

My face dropped.

"Leah spending time with me out of her own free will was freaky enough," Jacob cut in, joining us outside under the dim porch light and shutting the door behind him. "Then my dad loses it when he finds out Isabella is dating Edward Cullen and invites himself right over. And surprise surprise, Leah is already here. Being a pain in the ass is typical, but the protective streak is new."

Jacob darted his gaze between us. I buried my face into my hands.

"And?" Leah demanded. "We're not friends, Jakey. Isabella and I are. So what if I want to keep her from dealing with Billy's superstitious tales?"

Jacob's eyebrows arched. "Superstitious tales? If they're so superstitious, why were you so keen on listening to them not even a few days ago?"

She sneered, "Don't tell me you believe those ridiculous stories."

He faltered. "…No, obviously not. But I'm not stupid. You've been acting strange, Leah. Hanging around, Quil, Embry, and I? That's not normal."

I dropped my hands and turned to Leah.

"…You remember our last phone conversation?" she suddenly asked.

"Sure." With all the time I'd been spending at the Cullens in the last week, I hadn't had the chance to meet up with Leah. And when she'd called to ask questions, I'd mostly had to repeat myself. The only new information I'd offered her was…the names of the other candidates.

My expression smoothed over in realization. "You want to tell them."

"Well, they're not being fair," she spat. "We all deserve to know! After all the shit they put me through? I deserved to know. It shouldn't have had to come from you. And Embry…"

Embry―who no one knew was half-brother to either Jacob, Quil, or Sam. Not until he shifted, and his true bloodline was exposed.

"You don't need to make your case to me," I said. "I'm not a tribe member and these are tribal concerns. It's your call."

"True," she conceded. "But I wanted your help. I doubt those imbeciles would take me at my word."

"What is it you're trying to tell us?"

"Not tonight," I cut in, gaze boring into Jacob's. "We can sit around, have tea, and gossip about tribal secrets another time. There are still things I haven't discussed with Leah which concern her."

"It can't wait?" he asked, expression stubborn.

"No," I snapped, patience wearing thin. "It's a matter of life and death. But, since you'll be joining the club soon, you can do us a favor and get your dad home. I really could do without him butting in, all good intentions aside."

Jacob scowled. "Anyone ever tell you you're bossy?"

"No, but thank you."

"Wasn't a compliment," he muttered.

"I know." Hopefully, an up close and personal look at my dazzling personality had violently crushed all the beginnings of puppy love. "Seriously, I need to speak with Leah."

His features softened under my imploring gaze. "Sure, sure. I'll get him out of your hair. See ya."

"Thanks, Jacob."

He waved me off and headed back inside.

I dropped down onto the back porch steps, gesturing for Leah to join me. She did so, eyeing me warily.

"A matter of life and death?" she repeated. "Please tell me you were lying to get lover-boy off our backs."

I shook my head. "Let me know when they leave."

Leah suddenly glowered, "That dumbass! He told Billy I'm crying and you can't come say goodbye because you're so busy comforting me! I'm going to strangle him!"

I smothered a laugh. "In his defense, he did do as I requested."

"Fuck that and fuck him," she hissed. "He's dead."

He's not the only one who's going to be dead if we don't find a way to resolve this.

"Leah."

She held up a finger. "Hold onto that thought a little longer."

I fell silent and wondered how I was supposed to break the news. Leah was already temperamental on the best of days. What if this sent her over the edge?

"They're gone," she suddenly announced and then shot me an expectant look.

I ripped my gaze away and instead stared down at the lush grass. "You haven't been getting along with your dad?"

"…No. But you're already aware of that, little miss know-it-all. After Sam pulled all his bullshit with me, dad hardly treated him any different. Instead, he hired him along with the other tribe elders."

"And now you know why."

"Duh," she sneered. "Doesn't change the fact that they all lied to me."

"…How's his health?"

Leah paused. "Not the best. Mom's been on him about eating healthier ever since his blood cholesterol tested high. Why?"

"When I said this was a matter of life and death…"

"Oh." For a moment, Leah didn't react. And then she whispered, "He dies?"

"It's a little more complicated than that," I admitted, and unable to keep still any longer, I jumped to my feet and paced in front of her, boots sinking into the damp grass. "Leading up to your transformation, you were arguing a lot."

"We argue plenty now," she scoffed. But it came out weak and breathless.

I stopped and looked at her as I said, "It needs to stop. His heart won't be able to take it."

"He dies because of me?" her voice broke on the last word.

"You were arguing and at the height of your temper, you shifted into a wolf. His heart couldn't take the shock of seeing that," I explained quietly. "And then, after seeing his dad die, Seth shifted as well."

Quite abruptly, Leah shot to her feet, the wooden post of the porch splintering under her fist. "Typical," she spat. "It's not enough that my boyfriend turns into a fucking werewolf. It's not enough that he dumps me for my cousin because of some mystical bullshit magic. It's not even enough that I'm lined up for the same fate and will be forced to share a mind space with him. No. Now, it turns out that my dad dies because of me, and my brother suffers for it. What utter fucking garbage."

She stomped down the porch steps, right past me and screamed into the gloom of the forest, "Well, universe?! Anything else you wanna fucking throw at me?! Maybe kill me and bring me back as a ghost so you can have a good laugh?! Or just astral project me straight into hell?! At least then I'd get a break from all your bullshit!"

Leah caught her breath and regained enough momentum for one last shout. "…Nothing?! Well then, piss off!"

I grimaced. But dealing with angry-Leah was a surprising relief. I wasn't too sure what I would've done if she'd cried.

"…Are you done waking up all the forest critters?"

"For now," she huffed, spinning back to face me. "Listen up, Swan. Because you are the single worst fortune teller ever, and there is no way I'm allowing the rest of your rotten story to happen."

"I'm listening."

"Here's what we're going to do…"

"―and then Charlie kicked her out because it was a school night, and said that he would call Harry the next time she started shouting at the poor trees," I snickered. Leah had taken Charlie's awkward lecture surprisingly well, but that could be attributed to the fact that after our conversation, she'd been emotionally spent.

"Sounds like you had an interesting night," Edward admitted. We neared the door to my first class, our hands clasped together, and paused by the neighboring lockers. "More interesting than mine, at any rate."

I looked up at him. "Really? Weren't you supposed to finish helping Emmett with slicing up the last of the wood?"

"I would say that was more unpleasant than interesting," he frowned. "Esme had us up all night cleaning the yard. I don't believe you saw it, but it was an unequivocal mess. Branches, leaves, slabs of bark―I'm not even sure I got all the wood chips out of my hair this time."

I snickered. "Fortunately, you're too tall for most people to notice."

"Small mercies, I suppose."

"Well, don't let me find any splinters when I come over today. Those things are sharp, and it would put a damper on things if I stabbed myself."

Edward rolled his eyes at the lack of concern in my tone and then said, "About that…perhaps you should take a break."

I tilted my head. "A break? I guess I've been over at yours quite a lot. Already tired of my presence?" I teased.

Edward scoffed. "Hardly. But, I noticed," here, he tapped a finger against his temple, "That you've been neglecting your human friends."

It took me a second to catch on. "Oh. You mean Jess." All of last week, I'd declined her invitations to hang out. And since the Cullens weren't advertising their visiting family, I hadn't mentioned my reasons for being unavailable. "She must be upset," I realized.

"A bit," he admitted. "But I'm sure you'll work your magic."

I released a startled laugh. "What magic?"

"That uncommon ability you have of bulldozing your way past conversations others may consider awkward."

I shrugged. "Uncommon in high school, I would guess, but as you understand now, I've already been through it. I don't really tolerate those sorts of insecurities any more."

Edward smiled. "Even beyond these walls, it's not as common as you would think. But I have to ask…how old were you, before…?"

The bell rang.

I grinned. "Looks like you'll have to save that question for our date."

"I regret to find you're correct," Edward heaved an unnecessary sigh. He dropped a kiss on my cheek, before heading off with an, "I'll see you after class."

"Bye," I laughed and followed my classmates inside.

I didn't see Jessica until trig. And I was glad Edward had said something, otherwise I might not have noticed myself. Jess carried on with her typical bubbly demeanor and didn't seem too put out when I offered to help her with her study guide.

"Ooh, I get it now," she nodded, jotting down the corrections I'd given her.

"That's good!" I said, and seeing this was as good an opportunity as any, I went ahead and apologized, "Hey, I'm sorry for blowing you off all last week."

Jessica's smile dimmed as she looked at me in surprise. "Right. You did," she agreed. "It's okay though. Lauren always does that whenever she gets together with Tyler."

"It isn't actually." God, I can't believe she just compared me to Lauren. "It wasn't very considerate of me. And contrary to popular belief, I hardly saw Edward."

At this admission, she swept her gaze across the room, taking note that no one seemed to be paying us any mind. "Interesting," she smiled. "So, what exactly have you been up to?"

"I've been sworn to secrecy. But if you're up for it, I can make an exception for you," I grinned. I figured I could give her the same spiel I'd given Charlie. Plus, Jessica was a huge romantic. Telling her about the wedding was the least I could do to make it up to her.

"I am totally up for it!" she whispered, "Scouts honor!"

"Alright," I laughed. "But not here. Do you want to hang out at your place after school?"

Her eyes brightened. "Really? Are you done with…whatever it is you've been doing?"

"No," I said. "But I can take a break."

"Awesome," she squealed. "And I don't have practice today, so we can leave right after!"

"Sounds like a plan."

"By the way," Jess mentioned before I could turn back to my next math problem. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us to First Beach this Saturday? Mike's been planning the trip for ages. We'll be sad if you don't come."

I tensed at the reminder. "…I don't think so. I don't…have good memories of the ocean."

"Oh." Jessica paused and then said, "I'm sorry. But maybe…"

"Maybe what?" I asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Maybe," she repeated, fiddling with her pencil, "You can make good memories. You know, with us."

I smiled and relaxed my shoulders. "Maybe," I agreed. "Let me think about it?"

"For sure." Jessica grinned, appearing relieved that I hadn't immediately shot her down.

"Thanks. I'll let you know."

A/N: I actually missed Jessica. Hope everyone else is happy to have her back! x) And who else is looking forward to getting some more wolfy content? Knowing Leah, it should be all sorts of fun. In fact, knowing the dumb trio that is Jacob, Quil, and Embry, it will probably be chaos. But let me know what you'd like to see!

Also, I might stick to writing shorter chapters again. Unlike this update, the last one kind of drained me.

Until next time! :3